| His Eminence Antonio Rouco Varela |
|
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Madrid | |
| Archdiocese | Madrid |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 28 March 1959 |
| Consecration | 31 October 1976 |
| Created Cardinal | 21 February 1998 |
| Rank | Cardinal Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Antonio María Rouco Varela |
| Born | August 24, 1936 Vilalba, Galicia, Spanish Republic |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Denomination | Roman Catholicism |
| Parents | Vicente Rouco María Eugenia Varela |
| Styles of Antonio Rouco Varela |
|
|---|---|
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Madrid |
Antonio María Rouco Varela (born 24 August 1936) is a Spanish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as Archbishop of Madrid, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1998.
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Antonio Rouco Varela was born in Vilalba to Vicente Rouco and María Eugenia Varela, the latter of whom hailed from Bahía Blanca, Argentina. He has four siblings: Visitación, Jose, Manuel, and Eugenia. He studied at the seminary in Mondoñedo and at the Pontifical University of Salamanca (1954–1958), from where he obtained his licentiate in theology. Rouco was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Francisco Barbado y Viejo, OP, on 28 March 1959.
He then furthered his studies at the University of Munich, earning a doctorate in canon law in 1964 with a dissertation on church-state relations in 16th century Spain. He held a series of academic posts, teaching fundamental theology, canon law, and ecclesiastical law at the seminary of Mondoñedo, and the University of Munich. In 1976 he was appointed titular Bishop of Gergi and Auxiliary Bishop of Santiago de Compostela. Named Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela in 1984, he played a key role in the hosting of the 4th World Youth Day in 1989. Five years later, in 1994, he was named Archbishop of Madrid.
Pope John Paul II created him Cardinal Priest of S. Lorenzo in Damaso in the consistory of 21 February 1998. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI. In 2011 was Cardinal of Madrid, when the Pope arrive to the World Youth Day 2011. That year war founded in Madrid the University of "San Dámaso".
When he was Bishop in Madrid, there was the Almudena Cathedral renewed with paints of Kiko Argüello and the mosaics of Father Marko Ivan Rupnik.[1]
He has opposed plans by the Spanish left-wing government to remove remaining restrictions to abortion procedures.[2]
Cardinal Rouco Varela is also a known supporter of the Neocatechumenal Way and has co-ordinated massive rallies on 31 December 2007 and 2008 along with its founder, Kiko Arguello in events known as "family days" promoting the Christian model of the family.
| Preceded by Angel Suquía Goicoechea |
Archbishop of Madrid 28 July 1994–incumbent |
Succeeded by incumbent |